• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

PDP-8 Timesharing - is anyone still doing this on real hardware?

Same here but it was 1971. The local community college had a pdp-8i with 32k, 3 RS08s, 3 TU55s. Even completely full of users unless someone was really crunching numbers or doing lots of disk I/O you could not really tell you were sharing it. Yes, we had a TTY at the high school. A good friend loaned me Introduction to Programming and I learned assembly. I enjoyed assembly even on 360's using BAL. Nothing you can't do in assembly.
 
I have what I think is a (?the) controller board for ETOS. It is a bespoke board with some ic sockets and wirewrap. It is somewhat damaged. I got it with a load of other pdp8 stuff from a technical college in the early 1990s; it was destined for the junkyard so I got it for the cost of the petrol there and back. If anyone wants pics of the board, I can oblige, but I would rather keep it.

I do not have the software, despite getting some rk05 disks at the same time.

All my pdp8 machines (4x8e, 1x8m, 1x8a and 1x8L) are currently not working after two decades of non use, but I hope to attack the project again this autumn.
 
I have what I think is a (?the) controller board for ETOS. It is a bespoke board with some ic sockets and wirewrap.
Sounds like you have a rare item there. Are there any markings, labels, or board ID indications? I believe the ETOS controller board should be TSC8-75? Would you be able to post front and back photos?
 
I have what I think is a (?the) controller board for ETOS. It is a bespoke board with some ic sockets and wirewrap. It is somewhat damaged. I got it with a load of other pdp8 stuff from a technical college in the early 1990s; it was destined for the junkyard so I got it for the cost of the petrol there and back. If anyone wants pics of the board, I can oblige, but I would rather keep it.

I do not have the software, despite getting some rk05 disks at the same time.
I have ETOS running on my 8/E. Board is TSC8-75. Looks like I don't have a picture online. My board doesn't have wirewrap.

ETOS images
 
We have plenty of 8 hardware publically accessible at LSSM, but are only running OS/8 so far. It'd be great to get TSS/8 running, but getting the work done will be difficult without more help. If anyone wants to come to Pittsburgh and take it on as a project, we will do our best to make any required resources available.

-Dave
 
It'd be great to get TSS/8 running
Do you have RK05's on an 8? I assume not trying to use RF08's. Does it also have TC0X dectape?

I played with the RK05 port of TSS/8 under SIMH. The image available seemed to work but doesn't have the fix to allow dectape to work. That work was to figure out how to extract the contents from TSS/8 dectapes.
 
The 8/e on the main exhibit floor has a single RK05. We have a few more 8/es, several RK05s, and another RK8E. So, we can either put together a separate system for it, or expand the current on-exhibit 8/e with another RK05 or two and more serial I/O for terminals.
That system also has a TU56, but on a TD8E, not TC08. We have several more TU56s, and one more TD8E, no TC08. (sadly I myself never even SEEN a TC08 in the flesh, after nearly forty years of having, working on, and loving PDP-8s!)

-Dave
 
Which time sharing software is the best to use for the greatest OS/8 compatibility on real hardware.

What special hardware would be needed?
 
What about TSS/8, RTS/8, OMNI & P?S8.

TSS/8 requires some kind of interrupt timer board I believe.

Does anyone have an ETOS board clone or emulator for the omnibus?
 
Back
Top